It is (or was) a folk belief among some Muslims that the marking in the form of the letter “M” between a tabby cat’s ears represents the name of Mohammed, the prophet of Islam.

Legend had it Mohammed frequently rested his hand between the ears of a pet tabby cat named “Muezza,” and cats like her were forever graced with the mark of the prophet.

This charming little fairy tale may or not fly in Swansea where Penny, the library cat, was nearly forced from her bookish home.

The reason?

Unimportant.

In the interest of full disclosure, I myself have a cat, a 16-year-old mute multi-colored cat named Nomew. He sleeps nearly 20 hours a day and I envy him.

Ah, but this is not about my cat, nor is it about your cat. Or your dog.

I have met Penny the Library Cat. I don’t spend a lot of time in the Swansea Public Library but when I go in there, I look around for Penny. If I can’t find her,

the staff finds her for me and I give her a pet.

It’s not a big deal, either. I’m not St. Francis of Anyplace.

Still, a lot of the reporters who cover this story for radio or television will never have seen Penny before this week, or last week. They’ve never driven past the Swansea Public Library on a cold November day and decided to give Penny a bit of a pet.

Leaving aside the endless (and endlessly stupid) debates about animal intelligence, about where they go when they die or about whether they are better or worse than most people, I think we comprehend the value of furry animals mostly through our sense of touch.

In the case of our friend the cat, his sensory value is best found between his ears, at the front of his small chisel-shaped head, at the spot where Mohammed left his mark.

You put your hand on a cat, right in that spot and you get simultaneously a feel of the cat’s delicacy and the softness of its fur.

This can be a pretty good thing to do if you’re tired or just feeling in need of some undemanding company.

The stories have been about the cat because she is the only important thing in the story.

Cats are funny little animals.

They like attention. If a cat sticks his neck out, he’s looking for a scratch. If he can’t get you to pay attention to him, he rubs against your shins gently, purring.

Page 2 of 2 -
It’s cute.

Humans who are desperate for attention do not rub against your shins, purring delightfully. They do things that are far more annoying.

There are people who will kill other people, just to get themselves a 10-second soundbite on the television news in Omaha.

Such people often attract “followers,” a class of human who are often unemployed and unsuccessful but are generally willing to tell stories from their own life, stories which invariable feature them “telling off” the boss.

The desire for attention is common to humans and cats but of the two, only the cat can express it gracefully.